Sarah Shourd was released from Iran after months of pressure by the US US woman Sarah Shourd, who was released by Iran after being detained with two fellow US hikers in 2009, has said she will not return there to stand trial.
Ms Shourd was to stand trial next week for espionage alongside her friends, who are still being held in Iran.
She told AP news agency she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and returning would be “far too traumatic”.
She and the other hikers have said they unknowingly crossed into the country while hiking in July 2009.
Ms Shourd was released on bail in September 2010 and returned to the US. Her fiance Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal remain in prison in Tehran.
“There is a part of me that would like to go back and stand by Shane and Josh at this most difficult time,” she told another news agency, AFP.
“But really I’m afraid it would be too traumatic for me to go back after what I’ve been through in Iran,” she added.
Ms Shourd, who was released after months of pressure by the US, has said the trio were hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan and did not intentionally stray over the border with Iran, where they were arrested by soldiers.
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